Like We Stopped Breathing
by Sonny.With.A.Firefly
Summary: When he finds out Sonny is leaving L.A. for good, Chad is torn - should he make his move, or is it a lost cause?


It was 3 p.m., a warm summer afternoon, but not a sunny one. The air was brimming with water vapor and apocalyptic clouds were storming through the dismal sky. The typically crowded LA street was suspiciously vacant, showering Chad with the solitude he'd been lacking for weeks. The Falls had finished filming for that season, but his life had since been packed with interviews and walks that had started out casual, but quickly turned into meet and greets.

That day was different, though. The area was under a tornado warning, and only a select few were still venturing into the open to collect last-minute supplies. He was finally able to go outside, without signing autographs and without a disguise.

The first raindrops fell, and he could immediately feel his perfect hair begin to frizz. It was almost symbolic, really, as if it were liberating him of his own stereotype. At that moment, he was not Chad Dylan Cooper, he was just Chad. Maybe a warm, closed-off basement would have been a better place to be just Chad, but he kind of liked the idea that if he were to get swept away and die, he would die as himself.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking, and he wasn't exactly sure where he'd gotten off of the bus in the first place, but that didn't stop him from wandering further into the unknown, changing directions every so often to break the monotony. He was lost, he wasn't ashamed to admit it, but he hadn't had a chance to think in far too long, and he certainly had a lot to think about.

So Random had finished filming a week before the Falls had, so it had been almost a month since he'd seen that _stupid _girl that he was so in love with. He hadn't realized how much he anticipated her daily trip to his set, even if she only came to degrade him. The sound of her laugh after they'd finished yet another pointless argument was worth the temporary injury to his ego. _She _was worth it.

But he'd heard rumors, dirty ones that weaved into his heart and tore it to shreds. Rumors that she was leaving, leaving Los Angeles and never coming back. He realized just a few weeks too late that he'd waited too long to make a move; he figured he would never see the beautiful, silly, aggravating-beyond-belief girl again.

So when he caught a glimpse of silky brown hair and warm chocolate eyes from the corner of his eye, he knew it was fate. She was sitting at a small café, with only a hoodie protecting her from the downpour, but she seemed more interested in covering the journal she was craning over than covering herself.

"It's open, you know. You can go inside." He couldn't quite read the emotions that swept over her face, but it was evident that she hadn't seen him walk up. She slammed the journal closed with more fear than he had ever seen in her. He pretended not to notice. "You seem cold." From this distance, he could see the way she was quivering.

Sonny stood, hardly acknowledging the water that dripped from her hair, and entered the café without a word, as if she knew he would follow. She was right, of course. He would always follow.

"How did you find me here?" she asked quietly once they'd taken a seat, a small table by the window that let them watch the water slam against the ground and the rare passerby race down the sidewalk. Her question wasn't accusatory, in fact, she didn't even seem curious. Something was off – it felt as if their usual banter had been reduced to small talk. This wasn't the Sonny Munroe he knew.

"Well, I wasn't exactly looking for you - not that I'm not grateful the gods wanted me to run into a beautiful girl today." His heart immediately began to flutter with the realization that he had actually voiced that thought, but though her eyes were cast down, he could see the corners of her lips starting to curl into a soft smile. "Do you want something to eat? Or drink?" She lifted her head to scrutinize him, but was silent. "Or...not?"

"Why are you being so nice?" It seemed innocent, but the breaking of her voice and the way she refused to look him in the eyes told him there was more to the question than he thought. "You despise me. You're not supposed to be all cute and stuff."

"You think I'm cute?" Sonny's jaw dropped and she proceeded to do that adorable flustered thing that came dangerously close to stopping Chad's heart. "I'm being nice because... I kind of heard something. And if it's true, I don't want to spend one of the last times I talk to you arguing."

"I-but I only told Tawni!" He simply raised an eyebrow, and the brief moment of utter betrayal that passed through her gaze almost made him regret forcing her secret out of her best friend. "I can't believe she told you."

"Well, when were _you _going to tell me?" But he wasn't sure he truly wanted her to answer, because deep down, he knew that she was never going to. And that hurt a hell of a lot more than he was willing to let her know. "I know we don't exactly get along, but-"

"But Chad Dylan Cooper knows everything, right?" she asked rhetorically, her voice dripping with venom. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid of getting hurt. I didn't want to deal with telling you and then realizing that you don't care."

"You think I don't care? Sonny, they had to pull me off set after I found out because it was too obvious that I was holding back tears. And then I sat in a closet for an hour pouring my heart out to Skyler like a little girl. And you think I don't _care_?" Incredulous tears threatened to spill from Chad's eyes, and he ducked his head to hide it.

He looked up through his eyelashes to find a confused Sonny peering at him – unlike him, she'd never been the type to hide her emotions. He saw her mouth moving ever so slightly, as if she were searching for something to say, but it was minutes before she finally replied. "Why would you care?"

Chad bit down on his lip and held his breath, waiting for the courage to deliver his next line – "Because I love you."

**[A/N:] Wow, I haven't written for SWAC in so long, but I missed it, so this was produced. What do you think? Should I continue it or leave it as a one-shot? Reviewsss please? ;)**


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